Should I edit my Photographs ?

Well it is really down to personal choice.  Some people seem to be adamant that is isn’t “right” to change a photograph in any way. That the camera catches what it sees and it’s dishonest to change it. Well that would be a reasonable argument if the first part weren’t so true, the camera captures what it sees which isn’t necessarily what a person sees, any of us who have gone through difficulties with our photo taking will know this. Whilst we see a lovely sunset, the camera decide (well OK, not by itself) to over expose it, under expose it, play with the colours etc etc.

So there is the first reason for changing a photo, to make it more realist and correct errors. The second reason again is quite practice., the bit in the shot which shouldn’t be there. The telephone pole coming out of someone’s head, the bird photo bombing the picture, the person in the background holding up to fingers. This is a different type of editing, in this case you really are changing but I’d argue it was for the greater good. Is it really a bad thing to remove the satellite dish from the side of the thatched cottage?

The last reason would be an artistic one, where the photograph become just a part of a larger piece of art. It may be the major part with just a few colour changes or it may be just a very small part of a much larger collage. I say if you enjoy doing it then go for it. I have seen some fantastic artwork made from photos and there is absolutely know reason why photographs shouldn’t  be used as an artistic  medium.

So my answer to “Should I edit my photographs ? ” is yes, they are your photographs do want you want with them,  some people wont notice some changes, especially if they can’t see the original to compare it with. In the case of artistic changes some people may like it, some may not but isn’t that the way with all art. I do strongly recommend that you keep a safe copy of all your photographs exactly as they came off your camera or phone, Only work on copies. If you aren’t happy with something after a few weeks or months then you can always take another copy of the original and try again.